Speaking to Fortune, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) shared his thoughts on crypto winter and said he expects it to be a long one.
However, he added that as the losses and platform closures stack up, he prefers to focus on the positives of a market downturn. CZ said:
“I’m not debating that it is disastrous. It is bad.
But when this disaster is happening, there is also opportunity.”
Crippling crypto outflows sink token valuations
Since November 2021’s market top, over $2 trillion in capital has exited the crypto space, representing a 70% drawdown in total valuations.
Market leader Bitcoin is down 56% YTD and hovering close to the 2017 bull market top of $20,000. Analysis by Glassnode expects BTC to fall up to 64% from here, which would give a bottom price of approximately $7,500.
Meanwhile, @WatcherGuru tweeted that almost three-quarters of the top 100 projects are down by more than 90% from ATHs at current prices.
FUN FACT: 72 of the top 100 #crypto by market cap are more than 90% down from their all-time highs.
— Watcher.Guru (@WatcherGuru) June 17, 2022
According to CZ, the outlook is dire, but there is opportunity in the carnage. He said the situation is ripe to bring on board the best talent and acquire leading companies at rock bottom prices.
CZ sees opportunity in the bleakness
On Wednesday, CZ threw shade at the competition by tweeting that Binance is looking to fill 2,000 vacancies at the firm. Elaborating further, he said he wants to complete hiring by the year-end, which would increase its staff to 8,000.
Many crypto exchanges, including Coinbase, Gemini, and Crypto.com, have recently announced staff cuts to stave off the harsh trading conditions.
However, by keeping a tight reign on advertising spending, CZ implied that Binance is in a strong cash position and can hire when others are cutting numbers.
As crypto winter bites down hard, CZ described the situation as a necessary cull, in which weak projects die off, leaving only the strong, who will flourish when the good times return.
“Although it is painful for a lot of people, it weeds out the weak projects, and only the strong ones stay.
Everyone who lasts, who survives, will be stronger”
As for when that is, the Binance boss thinks the downturn could last for around four years, taking us into 2026.
Source: https://cryptoslate.com/cz-talks-crypto-winter-including-an-estimation-of-when-it-ends/